Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns {and} briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy {in} the joyous city: {yea...: or, burning upon}

Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, {and} children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? {of a span...: or, swaddled with their hands?}

{Is} this your joyous {city}, whose antiquity {is} of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. {afar...: Heb. from afar off}

If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. {go about...: or, make merchandise against a land, and men acknowledge it not}

Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

And in the fourth month, in the ninth {day} of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

{They that be} slain with the sword are better than {they that be} slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for {want of} the fruits of the field. {pine...: Heb. flow out}

Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.

And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; {seat: or, habitation}

Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they {were} all dead corpses.

Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns {and} briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy {in} the joyous city: {yea...: or, burning upon}

This {is} the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I {am}, and {there is} none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, {and} wag his hand.

{Is} this your joyous {city}, whose antiquity {is} of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. {afar...: Heb. from afar off}

How doth the city sit solitary, {that was} full of people! {how} is she become as a widow! she {that was} great among the nations, {and} princess among the provinces, {how} is she become tributary!

Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand {is} stretched out still.

{Those that be} near, and {those that be} far from thee, shall mock thee, {which art} infamous {and} much vexed. {infamous...: Heb. polluted of name, much in vexation}

And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, {and} the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.